Plumery Tails Malamute Ranch

$15 Per Person - Bear Pass
Meet Author/Owner Bret Terrell (B.J. Schwartz), discussion of the history of the malamute breed, Q & A session, getting to know our 8 pack, candid photo’s, a tour of the boy’s living quarters, see where they eat, what we do with all of their hair, short discussion on sled/cart pulling, receive 10% off all items in our gift shop

BY AUDREY INGRAM Telegraph Herald
GALENA, Ill. -- They poured out of the barn doors one at a time, until seven fluffy Alaskan malamutes -- each weighing between 120 and 160 pounds -- surrounded local author Bret Terrell.
Several of the canines star in two children's books series written by Terrell under the pen name B.J. Schwartz.
Last year, Terrell and his fiancee, Kim Eastman, opened the doors of their Galena home to invite readers, residents and visitors to meet the dogs -- Lil' Maxx, Bear, Blackie, Tundra, Glacier, Lambeau and Odin -- at Plumery Tails Mala-musement Theme Park.
This summer, Terrell carved trails through 7 acres of wooded area on the property to allow guests to hike with his Malamutes as well.
"This is the way life should be," Terrell said. "It shouldn't be about running around, trying to stay ahead of the game."
Terrell and Eastman met on Feb. 17, 2003, in Burnsville, Minn. She was stocking store shelves and he was in search of a blender.
The couple bounced around the country searching for work as far away as Virginia and Louisiana before moving to Davenport in 2007 when Eastman was hired by JCPenney. Two years later, she was transferred to manage the Dubuque store.
The couple adopted their first Alaskan malamute in late 2007. They walked into the animal shelter in search of a kitten, but instead came home with then-120-pound Max.
Terrell worked as a chef and a landscaper before he started writing in 2010.
"I knew poetry was the avenue I wanted to go," he said.
When the owners of River Lights Bookstore in Dubuque pointed him towards children's books, he was initially insulted, he said. But he turned to Max, and their hikes in Mines of Spain State Recreation Area, for inspiration.
"I wanted Max to be the hero," Terrell said. "Everywhere we go, he is the center of attention."
The first book in "The Adventures of Max & I," series was published in 2011. Books focus on moral messages, Terrell said.
The books are written in an ABAB rhyme scheme and 8-6-8-6 syllabic verse. They also contain vocabulary glossaries that increase in difficulty as readers grow older.
His second series, "Plumery Tails," features Lil' Maxx and Bear. The next installment will focus on grief -- Max died from bone cancer in spring 2012.
The couple had three Malamutes when they moved to Galena in the fall of 2013. It didn't take long for people to start stopping by to ask about the breed, Eastman said.
As they continued to rescue malamutes, Terrell taught the dogs how to pull a sleigh. During the winter season, children visiting Plumery Tails can take a sleigh ride.
Visitors also can take home souvenirs from the dogs. Elizabeth resident Sherryl Dombeck spins the dogs' hair to create yarn, which she then knits or crochets into fingerless gloves, hats, bracelets and baskets.
The malamute hair usually spins into a gray-colored yarn, though Tundra, the sole reddish-blonde malamute, has lighter hair. Dombeck has dyed some articles maroon and green with the goal of creating Christmas ornaments.
The whole process, from gathering the hair to knitting a pair of gloves, can be completed in about two weeks. The products are available solely at Plumery Tails.
"This is not just an enterprise for them to make a living," Dombeck said of Terrell and Eastman. "They really love these dogs."